Chicago, Ill. -- A four-week break from conference play did nothing to slow the momentum of the ninth-ranked team in the country, as the Wheaton men's basketball team picked up an impressive win over North Park on Wednesday night. The Thunder sailed past the Vikings, 89-64, to improve to 12-2 overall and 4-1 in the CCIW. Cade Alioth registered another double-double for the visitors, and Nyameye Adom led all scorers with 27 points to his name.

The game started in the best possible way for the traveling side, as the Thunder capitalized on a missed North Park jumper when Adom connected from behind the three-point line to give Wheaton the lead off their first possession. The two teams followed this score up by exchanging blocks, and a minute later, Tyson Cruickshank forced a steal and converted a layup to give the Thunder a five-point cushion. It took nearly four minutes for the home side to register their first basket of the game, but before North Park could build any momentum, two more Cruickshank layups pushed Wheaton's lead to nine points. Adom then cashed in one of his own, and teammate Luke Anthony got in on the party by scoring a layup and a three-pointer in the space of thirty seconds. By the time the Vikings scored again, their opponents had built an insurmountable 18-2 lead. North Park twice managed to cut the deficit to 13, but Wheaton found a reply each time and never allowed their hosts to get within single digits. The last minute of the first half was a busy one, as a Luke Anthony free throw was followed by an old-fashioned three point play for the Vikings with 39 seconds left. Adom sank a jumper to restore Wheaton's lead to 17 with just 12 seconds remaining in the period, but North Park got the final say of the first half with a successful jumper on the next possession, and the Thunder carried a 45-30 advantage into the locker room.

Despite earning the first four points of the second half, North Park were held at bay by Wheaton thanks to an impressive defensive performance. The closest the home side got to their visitors after halftime was eleven points, and anytime the Vikings threatened to chip away at Wheaton's advantage, the Thunder knocked down a basket at the other end to maintain their edge. After North Park went cold from the field in the middle of the half, Wheaton earned their biggest lead of the night when a Cade Alioth free throw pushed the scoreline to 67-42 in the Thunder's favor. The game eventually developed into a free-throw shooting contest in the closing stages, as Wheaton sought to slow the game down and see out a comfortable victory. A North Park layup with one minute left in the half was immediately followed by a Nick Schiavello basket in the paint, and these proved to be the final points of the game. The ninth-ranked Thunder left the Windy City with a comprehensive conference win, finishing off proceedings with a 89-64 scoreboard reading. 

Wheaton had a strong shooting performance on Wednesday, particularly in the first half, as the team shot nearly 55% from the floor and 71.43% from beyond the arc. The team went 17-25 from the free throw line across both periods and reached double-digits in made three pointers. Unsurprisingly, Wheaton bested their hosts in the major statistical categories, with the Thunder posting 36 points in the paint to North Park's 28 and earning 12 points off of turnovers to the Vikings' seven. The suburbanites held a slim advantage in the second chance and bench points marks, with 14 and 17, respectively. Both teams scored four fast break points. Wheaton out-rebounded North Park 43-29 in Wednesday's game, while forcing six steals and blocking four of the Vikings' attempts.

Individually, Adom knocked down four three-pointers to count towards his game-high points total while also collecting three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Alioth once again hit double-figures in the points and rebounds categories, going for 18 and 12, respectively, to earn his eleventh bundle of the season. The senior center also produced each of Wheaton's four blocks on the night. Tyson Cruickshank followed up his career-high 33-point effort in the recent win over Edgewood by posting 25 against the Vikings, including knocking down three shots from range and going 4-4 from the charity stripe. The veteran guard also led the Thunder with six assists, grabbed eight rebounds, and made two steals. Luke Anthony was Wheaton's primary contributor off the bench on Wednesday, as the senior registered 11 points and converted both of his three-point attempts. Nick Schiavello came up with four points, three boards, and a takeaway in his 16 minutes on the floor.    

After back-to-back lopsided victories, the Thunder will try to keep up the positive momentum when they host Augustana next Wednesday evening in King Arena.